Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-09-18
NEW AND OLD SARUM.
TIE eRyAr CATHEDRAL AND THE
WARS OF OLD rIMR..
Battles in ell Ages that Have Been
Fought hero-Magnitieence Of
the Great eFire.

The solitary fact respecting Salisbury
which seems 20 be within the oompre.
hension of the ordinary tourist is that
IL is somewhere'near Stonehenge, and
il you question him concerning Stone
benge you generally find the sum OF
his knowledge regarding it to be that it
is somewhere near Salisbury. la fact.
the popular connection of the two cx-
actly rcproiuces the old southern
joke "Sambo, whore Is the hoe ?"
vivid de harrow, massa." And
where's the hafrov 2" Wild de
hoe, massn." "And whore are
they both. you iool?" Both to-
gedder, massa. Here and there per-
beps you may fall in with traveller OF
extraordinary learning who has added
20 these facts the important informa-
tion that Salisbury Cathedral has tho
Hottest spire in England, the cross be-
ing 4N feet above the ground. Be
yond this you will extract little or
nothing from the majority of visitors
except indeed the details Of the dinner
which they had at the White Hart or
the Rcd Lion, aud which appears to
interest them far more than either
Stonchenge or the cathedral
But, apart altogether from these
two great masterpieces ef ancient and
modern architecture, The snug little
cathedral city of South Wiltshire is
well worth visiting for its own sake
Graded in a sheltered hollow of those
low ersssy downs" which are 50
marked feature of this part of Eng
land just ut the point where the Avon
the Wiley, the Madden, and the Bourne
mingled their waters in a rich and
beautiful valley, its importance,
whether for the purposes of war or
for those of peace. dates back to the
frst dawn OF British history. 1t did
not escape the keen-eyed Roman
generals who o conquered the south
ern counties of England, although
their essentially military tempera-
mont led them To regard it rather
as an excellent strategic position than
as a centre of peaceful industry. At
the junction Of six important roads
traces of which are sill to be seen
Nespasian's DICTIONARIES concentrated
their forces. and there, on "A bold ridge
to the north of the Salisbury Valley
upon which the poetical Britons, struck
with the contrast between its parchcd
chalky slopes and the well watered vale
below, had already bestowed the lame
of "Sarum or "dry place.. they es-
tabhshod a fortified camp which, even
in its presCHt iraCmenJarY condition, IS
sill one Of the murNcl7 Of England.
Iy slow degrees the Roman Practo-
mum developed itself into a small town,
which was excessively West Saxon
Hshopric. a Norman garrison, and the
English cathedral city Of Old Sarum.
An this while The rich meadows b.
rcath il. through which the Avon
wound lis way southwark toward the !
distant sea. remained almost unpeoplcd, !
for IN those Wild days most men found |
themselves much safer higher Vi on a |
fortified hilltop than down IN q de- !
fCnccl,ss valley. But as time went on |
and life and property became more aud |
moTc secure the shrewd churcnnea OF |
Odd Saruu began e. cost longing |
eyes uI0n the sunny l)wlands |
AID splendid pastures that lay |
OutsW,ad below ihcm aoug both banks /
Of tlcr river. The foundation OF Sails
bury Cathedral in l22O opened a new !
chapter Of local history. New Sarum, |
as Salisbury was originally called, |
speedily became the recognized centre
OF the district. while Old Sarum dwin
died into a mere antiquarian puzzle and |
disappeared little by little beneath the I
oncroaching soil until il became almost
rs completely "buned city rs Pom
pei itself.
IN It's present form Salisbury adds |
one more to the long lis, Of places whose |
outward appearance not merely bears |
no trace Of their past but absolutely /
contradicts il. The quiet little Russian /
hamlet of twonty-thrcc log huts, which |
bears the terrih,y.ronowncd name OF /
Boro6ino, is certainly the very last spot |
that stranger would be likely TO single
out as the scene Of that dreadful battle
which strewed the slopes OF the low
green ridge above it with 10000 slain
or wounded men. Vivid indeed |
must I've the fancy which could
call up amid the dreamy silence
and rich tropical beauty of the
memorial garden at Cawnpore the |
nameless horrors Of the fouicst massa-
ere that has stained the earth since |
Herod's murderers dyed with infant |
blood every home in the city Of David |
Among the dainty white streets and |
clustering foliage OF beautiful Lisbon |
there fingers no token-save a few |
ciumbling pillars and broken arches
of that black November night in 100 !
when the shock of the great earthquake |
made solid buildings leap bodily from |
thor foundations or fall to pieces like |
houses Of cards and Sucked down into |
a fathomlcss abyss q massive quay OF |
hewed stone with 20,C00poople uponit.
So it il with Salisbury likewise. Any !
one who should look down upon it for |
the first time from Castle Hin or Harm
ham Rise on a fine morning in the |
spring or the early summer. when a
cloudless sun lights up its darkred |
houses and clustering trees, its smooth |
green meadows and shining rivers, and |
its noble cathedral towering in the |
midst like a guardian giant, would |
doubtless think it a perfect haven of |
dreamy Old-World repose IT would !
certainly require the gift of actual pro-
pLesy TO enable him to guess that tins
UulCt, DthutliNi Ndlt'S Ait Ntlg ptNt'a'N
OF undisturbed peace and prosperity,
has probably witnessed more blood
shed and destruction than almost
any other spot in the south Of Eng
land. Yet such is actually the case.
For miles around Salisbury the whole
country is one great burial ground. 1t
is hardly possible to dig a foundation
or lay a railway track anywhere near
the city without turning up human
bones in abundance, mingled with
antique weapons and fragments of
rusty armor. Were all the dead that
have fallen here TO arise again, each on
the place where he fell, armies of
skeletons would start up, gaunt and
ghastly, along the slopes Of these green,
sunny hillsides as far as the eye can
reach. Romans fighting against
Britons, Britons fighting against
Ssxons, Saxons fighting against Danes
aud Normans, Normans fighting against
each other. have fattened this soil with
daughter for ages upon ages. Here.
too, in later times, Cromwell and his
war-like saints came marching in bat
tie array, with the praises OF God in